La Reserve is a venerable establishment in Albi on the banks of the River Tarn, right off the main road that leads to Cordes-sur-Ciel, another tourist draw. Now that Albi has been named a UNESCO World Heritage site, more people are bound to visit. We celebrated our 20th anniversary dinner there and were quite disappointed. The setting is pleasant. On... More

I must be in France every 2/3 months and I am based in Provence. My travels take me from one end of the South (Nice) to the other cote (Biarritz). And between?So many wonderful regions and experiences. I thought I'd share some of my favorites as I've stayed at so many hotels and sampled from 3* Restaurants down to the... More

"La Reserve" is a lovely 3 - 4 star country side hotel with great location close to Albi and directly on the Tarn river. The property itself is split between two houses, the more conservative main building and the more modern (parket, lounge style) rooms in the side house (anyway the bathrooms need urgent renovation). La Reserve is ideal for... More

Driving to the hotel from Albi we were very concerned that it would be too close to the town, but on arrival we were not disappointed at all with the location on the river. Room itself was very comfortable with a full river view and balcony. Breakfast, as is often the case, was uninspiring but adequate. Dinner somewhat better on... More

Of the eleven hotels we stayed at on a recent driving tour (six of them Relais and Chateaux affiliates), La Reserve in Albi was the best. And we never planned to stay there at all! A hotel in Spain disappointed us so we rang La Reserve on spec. The R&C brochure said that the Queen Mother had once stayed there... More